Jagadish Shettar is a tall leader but insulted by BJP: Siddaramaiah

Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday slammed the BJP for not giving members of the Lingayat community their due credit and insulting tall leaders like Jagadish Shettar.

"Jagadish Shettar is a very humble personality. Even though, he came from RSS background, he is a secular leader. I have seen his work very closely. I and Shettar have always had a very cordial relationship. When he was the Chief Minister, he worked tirelessly for the party," said Siddaramaiah while welcoming Shettar to the party fold.

"Shettar was loyal and the tallest leader of the BJP. When he was in power, he never compromised on anything. He was an honest party worker in BJP and always stood with the party, not for any personal gain," he said.

"The BJP, which called itself a disciplined party, now insulting its own leaders' without considering the efforts that those leaders have made. BJP accept Yediyurappa as their leader, and Jagadish Shettar was always in the second position. They also disrespected Yediyurappa by bringing him down from the CM post, which is why he cried when he resigned," he said.

Former Chief Minister and Karnataka's prominent Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar joined the Congress party on Monday, in a major jolt to the ruling BJP. Shettar, a six-time MLA from the Huballi-Dharwad Central constituency, was among the few leaders whom the BJP had asked to opt out of contesting elections to make way for younger generation.

According to Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai, the BJP had promised a big post to Shettar in Delhi but he did not agree to party's request. Shettar's move to quit the party and join the Congress is likely to have ripple effects in some of the regions in North Karnataka.

The 67-year-old leader belongs to the Lingayat community which forms close to 17 of Karnataka's voting population and also has a major say in the formation of governments in the State.